Alison Scott and Andy Mattila started planning their Minneapolis wedding in August 2007, and according to Alison’s mother, Jeanne Fansler, “We had no idea what we were doing.”
The couple knew what they wanted, but they had no idea how to make their ideas a reality. “My gut told me I needed a wedding planner,” Fansler says, but “my budget said there was no way we could add another expense. So we went ahead and began the process on our own.”
A few months into wedding planning, with less than a year to go, some of the details, like the Calhoun Beach Club location, were nailed down. But many other aspects of the planning process became overwhelming. They were simultaneously trying to plan for two graduation parties during the approaching summer, plus were in the middle of a home remodeling project.
“I wish I had hired a planner right away,” Fansler says. “With everything that was going on in our lives, I was beginning to feel pulled in too many directions.”
In early 2008, she reached out to Amy Fuerstenberg and Amy Steil, co-owners of Mi Mi Design. Fuerstenberg helped her with a budget, a timeline, and the “many little details that you don’t consider when you’re a rookie,” Fansler recalls.
After Alison and Andy got hitched—without a hitch—Fansler says she would recommend using a planner to any of her friends. “Wedding planners have seen it all. They can tell you what works and what doesn’t. They have contacts with every conceivable type of vendor. They know who’s great to work with and who to avoid. They are full of simple ideas that are fresh and creative. And honestly, the cost was much more reasonable than I anticipated,” Fansler says. “They’re worth it!”
Fitting a planner into the equation
It may sound counterintuitive, but the additional expense of hiring a wedding coordinator can actually help keep wedding costs down overall, Fuerstenberg say, because a planner can help brides create a reasonable budget and stick to it.
“We tell brides all the time ‘You’re going to spend more money than you intended if you don’t set a budget,’” Fuerstenberg says. “Brides might not hire us to specifically deal with the budget, but I prefer to [help manage it]. If I’m aware of the budget, I am that much more equipped. It helps me track their payments and gratuities, and helps me remind them of what is due when.”
The economic downturn has slowed recent use of wedding planners, according to the Association for Wedding Professionals International, but as 2010-2011 weddings draw closer, and more brides realize that a wedding planner can actually help them cut costs, AFWPI President Richard Markel says he expects to see an uptick. And in the long view, use of wedding planners has been on the rise. When the AFWPI started in 1995, about 10 percent of weddings involved planners. In 2008, Markel estimates that wedding planners were involved in about 35 percent of the 2.2 million American weddings.
Planners say the budgets for weddings they coordinate start at about $25,000 to $30,000, with the average wedding they plan costing from $50,000 to $60,000. They typically charge a flat rate based on the amount of work needed. Fuerstenberg has helped out with weddings for as few as 40 people.
“If you’re planning a small backyard wedding with 30 people and cocktails, maybe you wouldn’t need a wedding planner,” Fuerstenberg says. “But if you want more than that, you don’t want anything to slip through the cracks.”
Casey Attar, who married her sweetheart, Sayeed Attar at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis in April 2008, worked with Joan Nilsen of Ambiente to plan her wedding. “To have someone to worry about all the details while you just worry about being a bride ... it’s just nice!” Attar says.
Strapped for time
Fuerstenberg says that her clients are usually busy working professionals, or out-of-towners who are trying to plan a wedding from afar and need a local point-person. With the complexity of the modern wedding, the wedding planner’s brain, full of knowledge about which vendor supplies what, can save a bride precious time.
“I’m like Dex Direct. You want monarch butterflies? Doves released when you come out of the church? I know where to go for everything,” Nilsen says.
Attar, who is originally from Midland, Texas, sought direction on her wedding plans early in the process. She and Sayeed, both dental specialists, had just finished their residencies, were working full time, and also teaching part time at the University of Minnesota. “Our brains were fried. We were really busy,” Attar says. “And the logistics were just mind-blowing.”
Not only did they plan for a traditional Christian ceremony, the Attars also wanted a Persian cultural ceremony at the Minikahda Club to honor Sayeed’s family traditions, followed by a cocktail reception. Nilsen extended her full range of services, from helping out with vendor selection and scheduling appointments, down to the tiniest details like tracking RSVP cards and making sure the cake knife was in the right place at the right time. Her help not only allowed the Attars to attend to their busy lives, they were also able to enjoy their engagement more in the spare time they had.
“There are those little details that you don’t want to worry about, and you wouldn’t care to worry about, and I knew that everything was taken care of,” Attar says.
Nilsen loves that her job allows brides to relax more during their engagement. “My mom and dad always said that the two most meaningful times for them were their engagement, and their first year of marriage,” Nilsen recalls. “You’re meant to enjoy that time.”
Party on
Hiring a wedding planner can also be beneficial for others—like those helpful relatives who would do anything to make your day as perfect as possible. As the mother-of-the-bride, Fansler says, “I wanted to enjoy the day. I was happy to have someone else available to handle the last-minute crises, should they arise. I felt I would be busy enough just making the rounds to meet the guests.”
Katy Schultz of St. Paul, who married her husband Jacob in April 2008, particularly wanted her mom to be able to fully enjoy the day and not trouble herself with a laundry list of duties. “It was really nice to take that out of the equation,” Schultz says. “I knew my mom’s day would be consumed with all the details if we didn’t hire someone to handle things.”
Although Nilsen had helped Schultz throughout the process, having her there on the big day itself was the icing on the cake. On the morning of her nuptials, Schultz says she was still full of nerves, but felt less worried than she might have been, knowing she had Nilsen’s help. “It’s natural to still have those nervous feelings on the day of. But this way I was more thinking about the actual emotional part of it: seeing all of my girlfriends, and all of my family, and Jacob, and everyone all dressed up.”
Nilsen handled every behind-the-scenes situation so that Katy, her mother Mary Crandall, and their guests had nary a query. The Schultz wedding at the Basilica of St. Mary, followed by a Landmark Center reception, held all the magic Katy and Jacob had hoped for. “I just think it’s invaluable to have that peace of mind,” she says.
